k 


Social  Evolution 


OR 

Socialism  Made  Easy 

WORKERS  SCHOOL  LIBRARY 

BY 

HENRY  JAGER 

fn  v'ry  £ £ A/ 'f<:; 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  VANGUARD  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION 
187  Broadway,  New  York 


gjINCE  tke  publication  of  tins  pampklet, 
July  5tk,  1916,  tke  sale  exceeded  one- 
tkousand  copies  per  week.  Tke  writer  is 
kigkely  pleased  witk  tke  reception  given 
to  kis  work  and  is  most  greatful  to  tke 
Comrades  for  tkeir  kind  assistance  in 
bringing  tkis  pampklet  to  tke  attention 
of  tke  public. 


HENRY  JAGER. 


Social  Evolution 


BY 

HENRY  JAGER 


Lecture  delivered  for  the  American 
Periodical  Syndicate,  under  tlie 
Auspices  of  the  People’s  Fo  rum, 
February  13th,  1916,  Albany,  N.  Y* 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  VANGUARD  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION 
187  Broadway,  New  York 


MAR  2 2 1954 


By 

Henry  Jager 


I 


Evolution— -did  you  ever  hear  that  word  before  ? 

Yes,  you  probably  heard  it  in  connection  with  monkeys  and  the 
missing  link. 

But  Evolution  is  a universal  law.  Though  first  applied  by  Darwin 
to  the  physical  development  of  man  from  lower  forms  of  life,  it  is 
equally  applicable  to  every  phase  of  Nature. 

Evolution  is  at  work  in  your  own  mind  which  has  grown  from  a 
state  of  nothingness  at  birth  to  your  present  well-equipped  thinking 
machine.  Evolution  is  at  work  on  the  earth  changing  rock  into 
soil,  soil  into  fruits  and  fruits  into  life  and  plenty  for  man.  Evo- 
lution  is  at  work  in  the  realm  of  thought  giving  school-boys  a fund 
of  knowledge  not  even  possessed  by  the  most  learned  a century 
ago. 

The  law  of  Evolution  is  the  law  of  change. 

There  is  one  phase  of  Evolution  in  which  we  Socialists  are  very 
much  interested  and  with  which  you  non-Socialists  should  get  bet- 
ter acquainted — the  economic  evolution  of  society.  If  you  are  one 
of  those  individuals  who  believes  that  the  earth  always  was  as  it  is, 
that  man  did  not  develop  from  lower  forms  of  life,  that  the  economic 
conditions  under  which  we  are  living  always  existed  as  they  are 
now,  then  this  little  pamphlet  is  not  intended  for  you.  If  you  are 
such  an  individual  you  should  first  read  Darwin’s  Origin  of  Species, 
Geikie’s  Geology,  and  Morgan’s  Ancient  Society  and  within  the 
leisurely  confines  of  those  learned  volumes  you  will  be  convinced 
that  Evolution  is  a universal  law,  inevitable  in  its  results,  inexorable 
in  its  consequences.  But  if  your  mind  already  grasps  the  meaning 
of  Evolution,  then  we  crave  the  indulgence  of  your  attention  to  the 
end,  in  the  hope  that  if  there  is  revealed  to  you  the  possibility  of  a 
better  day  to  come,  you  will  delve  further  into  the  study  of  Social- 


ism. 


3 


II 


Living  as  we  have  been  for  the  past  few  centuries  under  the 
capitalist  regime  we  are  apt  to  forget  that  capitalism  is  not  the 
first  form  of  society  but  that  it  is  a development  from  more  primitive 
forms  of  community  life.  Capitalism  is  an  outgrowth  of  Feudalism 
and  historical  data  are  not  lacking  to  show  that  Feudalism  in  turn 
may  trace  its  blue-blood  ancestry  back  to  the  days  when  automobiles, 
submarines,  42  centimetre  guns  and  clothes  were  unknown. 

The  reason  why  Feudalism  gave  way  to  Capitalism  will  bear  care- 
ful analysis  because  in  it  the  careful  student  will  see  the  reason  why 
Capitalism  is  bound  to  succumb  to  Socialism. 

Feudalism  was  slavery  under  a more  euphonious  name,  just  as  we 
still  delight  in  calling  ourselves  free  and  independent.  Feudalism 
had  its  lord  and  serf — the  lord  was  master,  the  serf  was  slave.  The 
serf  tilled  the  soil  and  gave  everything  he  produced  to  his  lord  who 
in  turn,  however,  permitted  the  serf  to  live  and  even  at  times  to  die 
on  the  “honored”  field  of  battle.  Not  only  the  product  of  the  serf’s 
labor  but  also  the  product  of  the  serf’s  love  belonged  to  the  lord,  for 
the  most  outrageous  incident  of  Feudalism  which  makes  our  blood 
boil  even  at  the  present  time  was  the  “right  of  the  first  night”  on  the 
marriage  of  a serf’s  daughter,  and  still  not  so  different  from  the  view 
of  some  of  our  present  day  bosses  who  do  not  hesitate  at  the  de- 
bauchery of  their  employees. 

Feudalism,  of  course,  depended  on  the  might,  on  the  strong-arm, 
on  the  bravery  and  daring  of  the  lord,  and  on  the  weakness,  humility, 
fear  and  ignorance  of  the  serf.  But  men  were  meant  for  freedom, 
not  for  bondage  and  as  soon  as  the  means  by  which  freedom  could  be 
attained  presented  themselves,  Feudalism  died. 

Our  good  old  friend,  Evolution,  presented  them  with  the  means. 
First  was  the  discovery  of  the  art  of  printing  which  slowly  began  to 
have  its  effect  in  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  where  only  illiteracy 
had  previously  prevailed — and  knowledge  is  power.  Knowledge 
naturally  made  people  think,  so  that  with  the  invention  of  gun-pow- 
der they  quickly  realized  that  the  armor-sheathed  lord  was  as  vulner- 
able as  his  weakest  serf.  The  discovery  of  the  mariner’s  compass 
was  the  final  blow,  for  now  the  sea  had  lost  its  terror  and  with  the 
finding  of  new  lands  and  continents  the  desire  for  freedom  and  indi- 
vidual growth  became  stronger  than  the  already  weakened  fealty 
which  fettered  the  serf  to  his  master. 


4 


Ill 


The  new  regime  that  was  ushered  in  was  Capitalism.  Capitalism 
as  a child  was,  like  all  children,  full  of  promise,  but  now  in  its  old 
age  it  is  like  all  of  us,  fit  only  for  the  grave.  Again  the  inexorable 
law  of  Evolution.  Capitalism  at  the  beginning  naturally  made  won- 
derful progress.  Feudalism  meant  slavery  and  submission.  The  new 
regime  meant  freedom,  the  possibility  for  growth  and  free  competi- 
tion. The  restraints  which  had  for  centuries  held  back  the  natural 
development  of  man’s  intelligence  were  suddenly  released  and  all  the 
stored  up  genius  of  the  ages  found  vent  in  a most  marvelous  develop- 
ment in  every  phase  of  life. 

Literature,  music  and  art  saw  one  of  the  most  productive  periods 
in  history  and  the  practical  pursuits  of  men  were  likewise  not  neglect- 
ed. Everywhere  artisan’s  guilds  were  formed  for  the  teaching  of 
various  trades  and  real  craftsmen  were  developed  who  carved  their 
souls  into  the  furniture  and  who  bound  their  books  with  the  spirit  of 
love.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  those  were  the  only  days  of  real 
manufacture — which  really  means  “Made  by  hand” — and  the  ex- 
amples of  the  art  of  the  cabinetmaker,  the  silversmith  and  the  book- 
binder still  preserved  for  us  are  the  envy  of  the  present  “machine- 
made”  century. 

In  reviewing  the  development  of  capitalism  in  this  country,  we 
find  that  at  the  beginning  land  was  easily  obtainable.  The  tools  with 
which  the  land  was  worked  were  simple,  mostly  hand-made  (“manu- 
factured” in  the  real  sense  of  the  word)  and  easily  acquired.  If  one 
was  healthy  and  willing  to  work  there  was  no  difficulty  in  finding 
something  to  do.  Owning  the  land  and  the  tools  with  which  to  work 
it,  he  became  master  of  the  situation.  Since  everyone  was  able  to 
acquire  land  and  to  own  the  tools  of  production,  free  competition 
actually  prevailed.  Up  to  this  time  with  few  exceptions  man  was 
his  own  employer  and  employee. 

IV 

But  the  law  of  Evolution  was  already  at  work  in  this  new  form  of 
society  as  it  had  been  under  Feudalism.  The  primitive  tool  of  our 
forefathers  became  the  more  highly  developed  machine  of  the  pres- 
ent generation.  The  locomotive  took  the  place  of  the  wheel-barrow, 
the  steamship  displaced  the  sailboat  and  instead  of  the  continued 
growth  of  the  individual  craftsmen  we  find  corporations  monopolis- 
ing every  industry. 


5 


What  does  this  change  signify?  It  means  that  With  the  introduc- 
tion of  modern  machinery  classes  have  been  created — the  machine- 
owning class  and  the  machine-owned  class.  Let  us  stray  from  the 
subject  a moment.  Suppose  Jess  Willard  were  to  say  to  a ten  year 
old  boy,  “Let’s  fight  for  the  championship.”  You  would  treat  such 
a remark  as  a joke,  wouldn’t  you  ? A fight  between  the  trained  pugi- 
list and  the  weak  little  chap  is  out  of  the  question.  As  the  fighter 
stands  in  relation  to  the  boy,  so  does  the  machine  owner  stand  in  re- 
lation to  the  non-owner.  Without  the  machine  you  can  work  but  you 
cannot  compete.  You  cannot  compete  with  your  wheelbarrow 
against  the  locomotive;  with  your  sailboat  against  the  steamship; 
with  your  mere  brain  and  muscle  against  the  gigantic  wealth  and  in- 
fluence of  the  corporation. 

Competition  between  the  workers  and  the  capitalists  is  a thing  of 
the  past.  The  only  competition  the  worker  knows  is  the  competition 
for  a job.  If  you  own  the  means  of  production  you  can  dictate  to 
those  who  do  not.  You  say  to  John,  “If  you  want  to  live  you  must 
work.  If  you  want  to  work  you  must  use  the  modern  efficient  ma- 
chine or  you  stand  no  chance  in  the  selling  market.  If  you  must  use 
the  machine  and  you  can’t  own  it,  you  are  naturally  compelled  to 
use  mine.  Therefore  I own  the  only  means  by  which  you  can  live.” 
There  are  still  many  farmers,  tailors,  blacksmiths,  shoemakers  and 
other  artisans  that  own  their  own  tools  of  production  but  they  are 
the  passing  relics  of  an  age  gone  by.  The  modern  machine-owning 
corporation  says,  “We  acknowledge  that  you  are  an  American  citizen. 
We  are  willing  to  let  you  fight  for  this  country.  We  are  willing  to 
say  many  nice  things  about  you  but  one  thing  must  be  clearly  under- 
stood and  that  is  that  either  you  work  without  our  modern  machine 
and  we’ll  starve  you  by  underselling  or  you  have  the  other  choice  of 
working  with  our  machine  and  supporting  us.  In  other  words  you 
must  consent  to  let  us  live  by  the  sweat  of  your  brow.” 

Here  you  have  the  two  classes — one  owns  the  machinery  to  work 
with  but  does  not  have  to  work,  the  other  must  work  but  does  not 
own  the  machinery  with  which  to  work.  The  owner  is  the  Capitalist, 
the  non-owner  is  the  worker.  These  classes  are  the  natural  develop- 
ment of  the  capitalist  form  of  society.  The  Socialists  did  not  create 
capitalism  and  therefore  cannot  be  justly  accused  of  having  created 
classes.  * 

That  this  class-division  of  society  has  resulted  in  injustice  is  the 
reason  why  the  Socialists  indict  Capitalism.  The  working  class  lives 


on  wages ; the  capitalist  class  lives  on  profit.  Wages  and  profit  both 
come  from  the  same  source — both  are  the  product  of  labor.  When 
a commodity  has  been  produced,  the  initial  expense  is  deducted  and 
the  remainder,  i.  e.,  the  value  that  labor  has  embodied  into  it  is  di- 
vided between  the  worker  and  the  capitalist.  One  of  these  shares 
labor  receives  as  its  wages ; the  other  share  also  produced  by  labor 
is  retained  by  the  capitalist  class  for  its  profit. 

Since  wages  and  profit  are  both  the  product  of  labor  and  since  this 
product  is  divided  between  the  capitalist  class  and  the  working  class, 
it  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the  capitalist  class  receives  something 
which  it  has  not  produced.  Having  received  it  for  so  long  a time 
without  objection  from  those  who  have  been  paying  it,  the  capitalist 
class  has  come  to  regard  profit  as  one  of  its  prerogatives.  Capitalism 
therefore  stands  committed  to  this  division  of  labor’s  product.  The 
capitalist  is  always  ready  and  willing  to  divide  with  the  working 
class  that  which  the  working  class  alone  produces  but  like  the 
proverbial  thief  who  always  shouts  “Stop  thief,”  the  Capitalist  al- 
ways accuses  the  Socialist  of  wanting  to  divide  with  the  hope  that 
the  uninformed  worker  will  fear  Socialism. 

Let  us  examine  this  question  of  division  from  another  angle.  Al- 
most daily  we  hear  of  strikes  or  lockouts  in  various  industries.  What 
does  a strike  or  lockout  signify  ? It  means  a clash  between  the  work- 
ing class  and  the  capitalist  class.  What  is  this  clash  about?  It  is 
due  either  to  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  capitalist  class  to  reduce 
wages  or  of  the  working  class  to  obtain  higher  wages.  In  other 
words  these  two  classes  are  constantly  contending  with  each  other — 
one  to  receive  a larger  portion  of  the  wealth  which  it  produces  and 
the  other  to  prevent  the  producer  from  getting  it. 

I read  a joke  some  time  ago  which  graphically  illustrates  the  ever 
present  attitude  of  the  Capitalist  class  towards  the  worker.  A work- 
ingman entered  the  office  of  his  employer  and  asked  for  an  increase 
in  wages.  “I  must  have  more  money,”  he  said,  “because  I am  get- 
ting married.”  The  answer  was,  “I’m  very  sorry,  I was  just  going 
to  call  you  in  to  tell  you  that  I must  reduce  your  wages  because  I 
must  buy  my  wife  a new  car.”  The  Capitalist  well  knew  that  when 
wages  go  down  his  profits  go  up  and  when  wages  go  up  his  profits 
go  down. 

If  wages  and  profit  are  represented  by  an  apple  and  the  working 
class  were  to  get  three-quarters  of  the  apple,  the  Capitalist  class 
would  only  get  one-quarter.  If  the  Capitalist  class  received  three- 


7 


mm 

\ , . Vf 

■ quarters,  the  working  class  necessarily  could  not  receive  more  than1 
one-quarter.  But  since  it  is  to  the  interest  of  both  classes  to  get 
more  and  more  of  that  apple,  a constant  struggle  necessarily  exists. 
This  struggle  must  continue  to  exist  as  long  as  Capitalism  exists. 
As  long  as  one  class  of  people  insist  on  getting  something  that  they 
are  not  entitled  to,  insist  on  living  by  the  labor  of  another  class,  so 
long  will  that  struggle  continue. 

This  class  struggle  is  not  a national  or  racial  one — it  is  a world 
economic  struggle.  The  tyranny  of  Russia,  the  classicism  of  Italy, 
the  gaiety  of  France,  the  philosophy  of  Germany,  the  democracy  of 
England  and  the  freedom  of  America,  different  though  they  be  in 
their  national  ideals,  are  nevertheless  all  enlisted  under  the  flag  of 
Capitalism  and  wherever  that  flag  flies,  there  theclass  struggle  exists. 
No  phrases,  no  epigrams,  no  prayers  and  no  sermons  can  abolish  this 
class  struggle.  It  is  a problem  bom  of  economic  facts  and  economic 
change  alone  can  eradicate  the  evil. 

V 

There  is  another  phase  of  Socialism  that  I wish  to  dwell  upon  for 
a moment.  It  is  this:  Capitalism  lives  upon  the  exploitation  of 

labor. 

An  illustration  which  is  not  new  but  very  effective  will  show 
how  this  is  accomplished.  Assume,  for  instance,  that  I am  a capital- 
ist. I have  a certain  amount  of  wealth ; I want  to  eat  the  best  food ; 
wear  the  finest  clothing ; reside  in  the  finest  location  and  when  I die 
I want  to  be  able  to  leave  all  that  I have  to  my  heirs.  In  other  words, 

I want  to  eat  the  pie  and  still  have  it. 

This,  at  first,  sounds  like  a Chinese  puzzle.  On  close  inspection  it 
is  found  merely  to  be  the  capitalist  method  of  doing  business.  I go 
into  the  labor  market  and  there  I meet  John.  I ask  him,  “J°lm,  are 
you  looking  for  a job  ? (What  I really  mean  is  not  whether  John  is 
looking  for  a job,  but  whether  John  is  willing  to  sell  himself  to  me.) 
“Yes,”  says  John,  “how  much  do  you  want  per  day  ?”  “One  dollar.” 
“All  right,  John,  you  may  start  work  for  me  tomorrow.”  John 
works  a day,  produces  a pair  of  shoes,  hands  them  to  me  and  I give 
him  $1.  John  now  says,  “Will  you  sell  me  a pair  of  shoes  ?”  “Sure,” 
say  I.  “How  much  are  they  ?”  “Three  dollars  a pair.”  “I  haven’t 
got  that  amount,”  says  John.  “Well  then,  you  can’t  have  the  shoes.” 
On  the  second  day  John  works  again,  produces  another  pair  of  shoes. 


8 


mm.  i W‘  $ 

A'’’r  . ' * '■?  / 

'fends  them  to  me  and  receives  another  dollar.  Now  I have  two 
$airs  of  shoes  and  John  has  $2.  Again  John  tries  to  buy  a pair  of 
shoes  but  again  he  is  unable  to  do  so  because  he  only  has  $2.  On 
tfee  third  day  John  produces  another  pair  of  shoes,  hands  them  to  me 
amd  receives  another  dollar.  Again  John*  tries  to  buy  the  pair  of 
shoes  and  this  time  he  succeeds  because  he  hands  back  to  me  the  $3 
which  I had  previously  given. 

John  goes  home  and  begins  to  think  it  over.  “I  have  worked 
three  days,”  he  thinks  to  himself,  “and  have  earned  $3  and  produced 
three  pairs  of  shoes.  My  three  days  are  gone,  never  to  return ; my  $3 
are  gone,  but  I have  one  pair  of  shoes.”  I,  on  the  other  hand,  look  at 
the  problem  from  a different  angle.  I take  out  my  pencil  and  do 
some  figuring.  I find  that  one  pair  of  shoes  is  equal  to  the  cost  of 
the  raw  material,  rent,  gas,  fuel  and  other  expenses.  I put  that  pair 
of  shoes  aside.  I think  of  the  $3  I have  given  John  but  I remind 
•isyself  that  John  gave  me  the  $3  back.  I still  have  another  pair  of 
shoes-—' Where  did  I get  them  ? I did  no  work,  all  the  money  that  I 
invested  I have  back  again,  even  the  $3  I gave  John  and  yet  I have 
a pair  of  shoes.  It  stands  to  reason  that  this  extra  pair  of  shoes  came 
from  no  other  source  but  labor.  It  was  John  who  cut  the  leather, 
who  stitched  the  leather,  who  shaped  the  shoe,  who  did  in  fact  all  the 
"work,  but  it  is  I,  the  capitalist,  who  is  enjoying  the  fruits  of  John’s 
toil. 

So  you  see  the  capitalist  need  not  work  at  all ; he  can  eat  the  pie 
and  still  have  it.  In  fact  very  often  the  pie  grows  larger  and  larger 
the  more  that  the  capitalist  eats  of  it.  It  is  easy  to  see,  why  the 
capitalist’s  pie  never  grows  less,  when  our  attention  is  called  to  it. 
The  only  difficult  problem  the  Socialists  have  confronting  them  is  to 
get  people  who  for  years  and  years  have  been  taught  that  the  capi- 
talist is  supporting  them  to  see  that  the  facts  really  point  the  other 
way ; that  they  are  really  supporting  the  capitalist. 

I recall  an  incident  in  Middletown,  New  York,  while  addressing 
:an  audience.  Someone  in  the  crowd  interposed,  “You  Socialists  al- 
ways run  down  the  capitalist.  Where  would  all  of  us  be  if  the  capi- 
talists did  not  support  us  ?”  I looked  at  him  for  a moment  and  ask- 
ed him  what  he  worked  at.  He  said  he  was  a tinsmith.  “How 
■many  hours  do  you  work  a day?”  “Ten  hours.”  “You  are  foolish, 
my  dear  sir,”  I said.  He  became  indignant  and  told  me  that  the 
Socialists  always  insult  people.  Here  I offered  to  convince  him. 


9 


“If  I were  in  your  place,”  I said,  “I  would  go  to  a picnic  and  have 
a good  time  or  to  the  opera  and  hear  Caruso  or  take  in  the  best 
theatrical  performance  in  town  or  play  football)  baseball,  basket 
ball  or  golf,  or  read  a little  Shakespeare,  Browning,  or  Tennyson,  if 
so  inclined.  What's  the  use  of  working  when  the  capitalists  support 
you?"  He  saw  the  point  and  concluded  that  the  Socialists  were  not 
such  wicked  fellows  after  all. 

There  was  a time  when  people  believed  that  the  sun  travels  around 
the  earth  from  East  to  West;  their  vision  belied  the  facts.  It  took 
years  and  years  before  they  were  convinced  that  the  earth  revolves 
on  its  axis  from  West  to  East.  The  same  applies  to  the  lack  of 
economic  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  working  class  today.  The 
working  man  puts  out  his  hand  on  Saturday  and  receives  $10  or  $15 
wages.  “Ah,  what  a fine  boss  I have.”  He  takes  this  sum  as  if  it 
were  a gift,  forgetting  that  all  day  Monday,  Tuesday  and  the  rest 
of  the  week  he  is  piling  up  wealth  for  his  “benefactor”  while  at  the 
end  of  the  week  Mr.  Benefactor  returns  a small  portion  of  that 
wealth.  The  fact  is  that  it  is  the  worker  who  extends  credit  to  the 
capitalist  all  week  and  for  his  services  he  is  exploited  in  the  bargain. 

VI 

But  our  good  old  friend  Evolution  has  never  gone  to  sleep.  He 
has  been  at  work  on  our  economic  well  being  all  these  years.  Feudal- 
ism with  its  Slavery  and  lack  of  ambition  was  not  to  his  liking.  So 
Feudalism  disappeared.  Competitive  Capitalism  was  an  improve- 
ment, but  competition  meant  economic  waste  and  inefficiency' ; and  as 
soon  as  science  and  invention  blazed  the  way  for  the  machine 
wonders  of  the  present  day,  competition  disappeared,  industries  were 
organized  on  monopolistic  lines  and  a developed  capitalism  arose 
with  the  trust  as  the  lord  and  the  workingman  as  the  serf.  And 
now  you  turn  to  your  good  old  friend  Evolution  and  ask  him  “Is  this 
what  you  have  brought  us  to?  Is  this  the  promised  land  of  Eden? 
You  have  freed  us  from  our  Feudal  lord  and  have  substituted  the 
shackles  of  Capitalism.”  But  old  man  Evolution  smiles  and  says: 
“Patience.” 

That  the  corporation  or  trust  is  a necessary  outgrowth  of  com- 
petitive Capitalism  and  is  also  a necessary  stepping  stone  to  Social- 
ism was  always  maintained  by  the  Socialists.  We  all  remember  the 
days  of  Bryanism.  In  those  days  every  trust  was  going  to  be  smash- 


10 


ed  and  many  smashers  were  there.  Bryan  smashed  a trust  in  every 
speech;  Roosevelt  smashed  a .trust  in  every  interview;  Hearst 
smashed  a trust  in  every  special  edition  of  his  newspapers.  The 
lone  Socialist  stood  on  the  street  corner,  an  unknown  quantity,  and 
he  alone  knew  that  the  trust  could  not  be  smashed.  Oh ! for  the 
wasted  millions  of  words,  and  the  wasted  millions  of  dollars,  and  the 
wasted  years  of  bluff! 

The  trusts  are  still  with  us,  stronger  than  ever,  more  numerous 
than  ever  and  all  are  now  convinced  that  the  Socialist  was  and  is 
right.  Had  Bryan  studied  Socialism  instead  of  the  merits  of  grape 
juice,  had  Roosevelt  spent  less  time  with  wild  jaguars  and  more  time 
with  Karl  Marx,  had  Hearst  been  less  voluble  and  more  sincere,  had 
we,  the  common  people,  been  a public  trained  to  weigh  and  consider 
the  economic  problems  confronting  the  country,  those  wasted  years 
of  bluff  would  have  been  saved  to  civilization.  The  notion  of  most 
people  that  the  things  that  are,  always  have  been  and  because  they 
are,  are  right,  is  costly  and  expensive. 

Feudalism  evolved  into  a system  of  individual  production,  but  in- 
dividual production  is  no  longer  with  us  no  matter  how  hard 
we  may  wish  it  to  be.  Individual  production  has  already  developed 
into  industrial  institutions  employing  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
people.  Despite  this  social  or  collective  mode  of  production,  some 
of  us  still  dream  of  the  past  and  think  that  the  days  of  individualism 
are  still-  with  us. 

We  are  no  longer  living  as  separate  individuals.  We  could  not  if 
we  would  and  we  would  not  if  we  could  go  back  to  those  days.  Take 
our  newspapers  for  an  example.  Men  in  China,  Japan  and  every- 
where are  busy  daily  reporting  events  to  New  York.  The  machinery 
on  which  the  newspapers  are  printed  come  from  every  part  of  the 
globe.  The  pulp  of  Norway  and  the  timber  of  Canada  are  enlisted 
in  making  the  paper  itself.  Thousands  of  people,  hundreds  of  in- 
dustries and  every  part  of  the  globe  contribute  a share  in  the  final 
product.  This  newspaper,  although  privately  owned,  depends  for 
its  production  upon  the  collective  or  socialized  effort.  Progress 
could  not  continue  without  collective  production. 

This  transition  from  competitive  Capitalism  to  corporationized 
Capitalism  has  necessarily  brought  with  it  all  the  evils  of  monopoly. 
When  the  employer  employs  five  men,  each  one  producing  for  ex- 
ample $2  of  wealth  per  day,  the  employer  retains  $1  from  each  or 

11  . 


r 

i 


the  total  of  $5,  each  of  the  employees  receiving  the  other  dollar.  If 
each  employee  spent  the  dollar  earned  each  day  and  the  employer 
his  $5,  the  whole  product  would  be  consumed.  Today,  when  a 
capitalist  employs  100,000  people  and  makes  a dollar  out  of  each  one 
per  day,  the  worker  can  only  buy  the  other  dollar’s  worth  or  one-half 
of  what  he  really  produces.  It  stands  to  reason  that  he  cannot  buy 
the  total  amount  he  actually  contributed  to  the  market  because  out 
of  the  $2  so  contributed,  he  has  received  only  $1,  the  other  dollar 
going  to  the  capitalist.  The  capitalist,  however,  while  he  may  be 
able  to  consume  $1,000  or  $2,000,  or  even  $5,000  worth  of  wealth 
per  day,  still  has  merchandise  to  the  extent  of  $95,000  per  day  un- 
consumed. 

What  becomes  of  this  accumulated  merchandise?  The  worker 
cannot  buy  it  and  the  capitalist  does  not  need  it.  The  warehouses 
become  over-crowded  and  still  there  is  no  purchaser  in  sight.  The 
cry  goes  up  that  the  market  is  suffering  from  over-production.  One 
would  imagine  that  if  there  was  an  over-production  that  the  pro- 
ducers of  wealth  would  have  two  pairs  of  shoes  instead  of  one ; two 
suits  of  clothes  instead  of  one ; that  they  would  have  enough  food  to 
make  all  happy.  In  short  that  no  one  would  worry  and  plenty  would 
prevail.  This  is  not  the  case,  however.  What  really  happens  is  that 
the  shoemaker  is  told  his  services  are  no  longer  necessary.  He  has 
produced  too  many  shoes  and  therefore  is  rewarded  with  loss  of 
work.  The  tailor  has  produced  too  much  clothing,  therefore  he  is 
to  have  no  clothes  and  so  on  all  along  the  line. 

It  is  not  a case  of  over-production.  The  disease  is  really  under- 
consumption; yet  in  spite  of  this  under-consumption  the  shoemaker 
can  look  into  the  store  windows  and  see  the  shoes  that  would  save 
him  from  his  shivering  cold,  the  tailor  may  see  the  clothes  that  he 
should  be  wearing  but  cannot  buy  and  the  workers  in  general  can 
look  into  the  empty  tenements  they  have  built  but  do  not  own. 

Here  we  realize  that  the  worker  is  not  out  of  employment  because 
he  is  lazy  or  has  bad  habits  or  is  disobedient;  he  is  out  of  work 
simply  because  in  our  present  form  of  society  we  produce  not  for 
consumption  but  for  sale.  Then  everyone  realises  that  something 
must  be  done.  The  workers  are  beginning  to  get  restless ; they  can- 
not pay  rent;  they  cannot  pay  the  butcher;  they  cannot  pay  the 
grocer;  starvation  stares  them  in  the  face.  For  a time  false  pride 
keeps  them  from  talking  of  their  poverty  but  this  pride  soon  gives 


12 


way  to  necessity.  Agitators  get  busy ; the  newspapers  are  compelled 
to  admit  more  and  more  of  the  facts ; workers  begin  to  congregate 
on  the  highways,  and  some  of  them  even  begin  to  make  threats ; they 
begin  to  learn  that  there  is  something  wrong  with  a system  that  can- 
not even  exploit  the  masses  steadily ; they  look  at  the  factories  that 
are  shut  up  and  at  the  mills  that  are  shut  down ; they  see  the  small 
capitalist — his  wealth  absorbed  by  the  bigger  capitalists — bankrupted 
and  thrown  into  the  ranks  of  labor ; the  army  of  unemployed  grows 
larger  and  larger  until  the  capitalists  themselves  begin  to  fear;  the 
cry  of  charity  goes  up  and  charity  is  handed  down;  the  capitalist 
who  robbed  wholesale  now  makes  restitution  on  the  basis  of  retail. 

The  workers  begin  to  ask  questions.  If  this  happens  in  the  days 
of  Cleveland,  the  Republicans  blame  the  Democrats;  if  it  happens 
in  the  days  of  Roosevelt,  the  Democrats  blame  the  Republicans. 
Should  we  however,  search  for  the  truth  we  could  readily  see  that 
the  crisis  is  neither  Democratic  nor  Republican  but  capitalistic. 

We  could  see  that  in  Russia,  under  the  Czar,  in  Germany  under 
the  Emperor,  in  England  under  the  King  and  in  America  under  the 
President,  all  alike  and  at  the  same  time  are  suffering  from  the  same 
symptoms.  The  crisis  is  international  in  its  scope  and  is  ever-recur- 
ring. You  cannot  rid  yourself  of  these  symptoms  without  first 
getting  rid  of  the  cause. 

After  the  crisis  is  over  our  capitalists  get  busy  to  find  a remedy 
in  order  to  prevent  a repetition.  They  argue  that  since  the  crisis  was 
due  to  the  overcrowding  of  our  home  markets — with  the  wealth 
stolen  from  labor — it  must  naturally  follow  that  if  we  could  only 
capture  some  foreign  market  as  an  outlet  for  this  surplus  wealth  it 
would  bring  relief. 

A decision  is  reached,  and  secretly  or  openly  an  attempt  to  capture 
some  market  is  made.  Of  course  a modern  nation  cannot  enter  into 
a war  for  conquest ; so  a pretext  is  generally  resorted  to  and  war  is 
entered  into  on  the  ground  of  “defence.” 

If  we  look  across  the  ocean  and  see  the  countless  millions  en- 
gaged in  battle  and  think  of  the  lives  that  are  lost,  the  thousands 
maimed  for  life  and  the  anguish  of  the  bereaved,  isn't  it  fair  to  ask 
ourselves  whether  Karl  Marx  was  not  correct  after  all  in  his  formu- 
lation of  the  materialist  conception  of  history  when  he  laid  down 
this  social  law:  “Production  of  the  means  to  support  human  life 
and  the  exchange  of  things  produced  is  the  basis  of  all  social  struc- 


13 


tures ; in  every  form  of  society  the  manner  in  which  wealth  is  dis- 
tributed and  the  inhabitants  divided  into  classes  or  orders  is  de- 
pendent upon  what  is  produced,  how  it  is  produced  and  how  the 
products  are  exchanged.” 

When  we  think  of  Catholic  arrayed  against  Catholic,  Protestant 
against  Protestant  and  Jew  against  Jew,  may  we  not  ask  whether 
Marx  after  all  was  not  correct  when  he  pointed  out  that  the  economic 
factor  is  the  determining  factor  and  that  all  idealism,  all  morality, 
ethics  and  religion  succumb  to  the  economic  conditions  of  the  times  ? 

The  man  who  hasn't  studied  the  materialist  conception  of  history, 
looks  aghast  at  the  struggle  now  raging  in  Europe  and  tries  to  find 
a cause  for  the  gigantic  war  in  some  frivolous  incident  such  as  the 
murder  of  a crown  prince  or  the  violation  of  a paper  treaty.  The 
fact  is  that  the  roots  of  war  are  deeper  laid  than  is  apparent  on  the 
surface.  It  was  caused  by  economic  conditions.  Germany  had  to 
have  more  markets  and  protect  the  markets  it  controlled.  England, 
France  and  Russia  were  in  the  same  position  and  the  war  in  Europe 
was  necessitated  by  commercialism. 

But  war  will  not  solve  the  problem.  The  solution  of  the  problem 
lies  solely  in  the  abolition  of  Capitalism.  Remove  the  cause  of  the 
disease  and  all  the  attendant  evils  of  poverty,  crime  and  war  will 
cease. 

VII 

The  Socialist  maintains  that  society  is  constantly  in  the  process 
of  evolution.  That  Feudalism  preceded  competitive  Capitalism;  that 
competitive  Capitalism  preceded  corporate  Capitalism  and  that  cor- 
porate Capitalism  is  the  immediate  predecessor  to  the  Socialist 
regime. 

The  Socialist  philosophy  does  not  condemn  Feudalism  or  Capital- 
ism for  having  come  into  existence  any  more  than  other  scientists 
condemn  the  ape  for  its  shortcomings. 

We  realize  that  every  form  of  society  preceding  our  own  was  a 
necessary  step  in  the  economic  development  of  mankind  and  was 
essential  to  its  future  development  into  Socialism.  Private  owner- 
ship and  private  control  of  the  means  of  production,  transportation 
and  distribution,  are  already  admitted  by  our  capitalist  government 
to  have  out-lived  its  usefulness  and  this  admission  presages  the  early 
death  of  the  capitalist  regime. 


14 


When  Dick  Croker  was  questioned  as  to  how  he  made  his  money 
he  answered  in  Tammany  style,  “That’s  my  private  business.”  Ev- 
olution, however,  has  been  at  work  since  Croker  retired  from  the 
arena.  Today  the  government  calls  upon  the  Rockefellers,  the  Mor- 
gans and  the  Camegies  to  answer  the  same  question  and  instead  of 
the  brazen  defiance  of  Croker,  a trip  to  Europe  is  their  only  escape. 
It  is  already  recognized  that  the  interests  of  the  people  are  superior 
to  those  of  the  individual.  Social  control  over  the  means  of  produc- 
tion, transportation  and  distribution  is  becoming  a factor.  The  step 
from  social  control  to  social  ownership  is  but  a short  one.  Capital- 
ism is  already  tottering  to  its  grave  although  some  of  the  capitalists 
are  still  unaware  of  its  impending  death.  I am  quite  certain  that  you 
and  I shall  attend  the  requiem  mass. 

We  are  organizing  for  the  overthrow  of  Capitalism  along  two 
lines.  First,  politically  into  the  various  political  districts  of  the 
country  so  as  to  be  able  to  nominate  candidates  for  the  various  of- 
fices. In  this  way  we  are  able  to  come  before  the  masses  pointing 
out  the  evils  that  exist,  showing  them  the  cause  and  remedy  and 
asking  them  to  register  their  vote  for  Socialism,  thereby  using  the 
political  organization  for  propaganda  purposes  and  for  a test  of  the 
revolutionary  atmosphere  which  we  have  created. 

Secondly,  we  promote  the  industrial  organization  of  labor.  His- 
tory has  taught  us  that  the  emancipation  of  chattel  slavery  was  not 
brought  about  by  the  mere  question  of  abstract  justice  but  was  the 
result  of  a long  drawn  out  bloody  conflict.  Putting  two  and  two 
together  we  believe  that  it  is  just  barely  possible  that  although  the 
majority  of  the  people  may  be  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  the  pri- 
vate ownership  of  the  means  of  production,  transportation  and  dis- 
tribution, the  capitalist  may  nevertheless  feel  very  inconvenient  about 
accommodating  us  by  turning  over  the  property  to  the  American 
people  and  therefore  we  are  organizing  the  might  to  back  up  our 
right  and  this  might  is  the  industrial  organization  of  labor.  The  in- 
dustrial organization  is  formed  by  the  workers  in  the  shop,  in  the  fac- 
tory, in  the  mine,  in  the  mill,  on  the  railroad,  as  they  work.  Each 
shop  is  organized  into  an  industrial  unit  and  these  units  in  similar 
industries  are  in  turn  organized  into  larger  organizations.  These 
industrial  organizations  are  drilled  and  trained  in  the  tenets  of 
Socialism.  When  we  have  elected  our  own  representatives  and  can 
change  our  laws  so  as  to  establish  the  industrial  republic,  if  the  capi* 
talist  should  then  dare  to  violate  the  laws,  we  will  be  ready  to  enter 


15 


those  factories,  mills,  mines,  and  railroads,  take  possession  of  them: 
and  operate  them  as  we  are  now  operating  them;  but  instead  ©f 
rendering  our  accounts  as  we  are  now  doing  to  the  capitalist  our  ac- 
counts will  be  rendered  to  the  Headquarters  of  the  Industrial  Re- 
public. There  the  men  will  have  the  facts  and  the  figures  of  the 
wealth  produced  and  it  will  be  to  our  interest  to  see  to  it  that  each, 
worker  receives  as  near  as  the  human  mind  can  figure  it  out,  the  Ml 
social  value  of  his  product. 

In  such  a society  every  machine,  instead  of  being  a curse,  as  it  has 
been  under  Capitalism,  will  become  a blessing,  for  it  will  aid  in  the 
reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor;  there  will  be  no  cause  for  war*  be- 
cause there  will  be  no  stolen  property  to  dispose  of ; there  will  be  ne- 
over-production  or  under-consumption  because  each  will  receive  his 
full  share  contributed. 

Socialism,  if  it  will  accomplish  anything  will  beyond  all  doubt 
wipe  out  the  one  great  evil  of  our  present  day  civilization — involun- 
tary poverty. 

Socialism  will  establish  a form  of  society  under  which  no  one  will 
live  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow  of  another,  under  which  competition, 
mean,  rank,  competition  will  no  longer  exist;  under  which  every 
man  will  have  ample  time  for  spiritual  relaxation  and  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  sciences,  literature  and  art  and  for  the  first  time  m 
the  history  of  the  human  race,  will  there  truly  be  a condition  in  whida. 
there  will  be  “Peace  on  earth  and  good-will  towards  man.” 


16 


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